Broncos await vital decision by Tallis

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Brisbane captain Gorden Tallis has 58 days to decide if he is going to follow Brad Fittler into retirement, with Broncos officials admitting his decision will have an impact on whether they can retain Darren Lockyer.

Fittler's decision on Sunday to quit the game at the end of this season strengthens the bargaining positions of Lockyer and fellow Golden Boot winner Andrew Johns, who could argue the Roosters would be interested in them if they were unsigned by the June 30 anti-tampering deadline.

"It gives them [Roosters] some money but we also have to consider the possible retirement of Gorden Tallis, which would even things up," Cullen said last night. "He hasn't said what he is going to do yet but there is some possibility that Gorden won't play next year."

Tallis last month offered to retire if it helped the club regain winger Lote Tuqiri from rugby union. Cullen revealed he had " a long chat" to Tallis on Sunday, presumably about his future.

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"I don't want to reveal what that was about, it's between us," said Cullen. "But Wayne [Bennett], Gorden and I have a strong relationship, we're more than just player, coach and administrator. We're mates.

"We don't have a definite position from Gorden about what he plans to do but we are comfortable where he is at . . . We need to know by the June 30, but that is two months away."

Fittler's announcement has had a domino effect on three other Australia captains - Lockyer, Tallis and Johns. It is conceivable that because Lockyer's bargaining power will increase with the Roosters in the market, Tallis will feel some pressure to make a sacrifice for his club.

And if Tallis retires and Lockyer stays in Brisbane, the Roosters' interest in Johns, Tuqiri and Melbourne's Matt Orford is likely to be positively affected.

While there had been a widespread perception Lockyer was under contract next year, Cullen said: "I knew when I took the job 18 months ago that he wasn't."

Sydney Roosters chief executive Brian Canavan last night confirmed the club knew Lockyer was off contract because his name had been on a list of free agents circulated by his management company.

Canavan said he'd known previously there was an option in Lockyer's contract to leave the Broncos but insisted the club was not necessarily going to recruit anyone. "We are on record as saying Chris Flannery and Craig Wing are in the mix to replace Brad at five-eighth," said Canavan.

The Broncos had some good news yesterday in that their appeal against the loss of two competition points for using an illegal replacement in round three will be allowed to proceed. The appeals hearing has been set down for Friday.

"We're not confident of winning but we're confident we have a good case," said Cullen.

NRL players have been warned against verbal harassment of referees after some heated exchanges at the weekend.

"Players should be under no illusions . . . we take a dim view of any player who attempts to intimidate referees during matches," said NRL match review co-ordinator Greg McCallum.

NRL chief executive David Gallop said: "The game needs to attract as many quality people as possible to the refereeing ranks and the right example of acceptable behaviour must be set from the very top."

Sydney Origin and Country Origin each lost a player through injury for their clash on Friday.

Country winger Joel Monaghan (calf) has been replaced by Dragon Nathan Blacklock, while the Roosters' Ryan Cross comes in for City centre Mark Gasnier (hamstring).

Monaghan said: "It's the first representative team I've ever made. For it to only last an hour isn't the best."

The teams went into camp last night, Country to Armidale and Sydney Origin to Mudgee. City coach Graham Murray insisted there were six spots up for grabs in the NSW team for Origin I on May 26. Most observers believe that once Test players and injured stars are thrown into the mix, there will be only two.

Queensland's squad broke camp yesterday, Lockyer evasive on his chances of being fit for Origin I at Telstra Stadium after suffering a cracked rib.